Stephen Curry, Warriors Flash Extra Gear in Dramatic WCF Game 1 Win over Rockets

OAKLAND, Calif. — We know by now the Houston Rockets are capable of improbable bursts of brilliance.

Game 6, remember.

We can also safely say Houston—the Western Conference's second-best team in the regular season—is worthy of the world-savaging Golden State Warriors. The Rockets proved admirable in Tuesday night's first installment of the Western Conference Finals, a heart-erasing, back-and-forth 110-106 Golden State win featuring MVP1, Stephen Curry, and MVP2, James Harden.

But while the Rockets and Harden dabble in improbable moments—as we witnessed in the conference semifinals vs. the Clippers—the 2014-15 Warriors make otherworldly feats seem routine.

Golden State found its je ne sais quoi earlier than usual in Game 1. Down 16 points in the second quarter and desperate for Oracle Arena’s energy, the Warriors went on a 25-6 run to close out the quarter. Oracle dutifully responded, and the deafening tone hardly changed the rest of the night.

As is custom for Golden State, the run made little sense, but the impact was real.

Despite his team getting torched in the paint throughout most of the first 20 minutes, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stuck with a small-ball lineup featuring Draymond Green at center, Harrison Barnes at power forward and a collection of Harlem Globetrotter wannabes setting fire to nets. NBA Analyst Nate Duncan complimented the Warriors on their rim protection:

"I always love going up against bigger guys," Green said after the game. "It's a challenge, and I love a challenge."

These Warriors, far and away tops in the NBA in terms of net rating in the regular season (11.4, compared to Clippers' next-best mark of 6.9), have proved conventional laws of basketball physics don't really apply to them.

Thirty-seven points in a quarter for one player? Presto.

A 20-point fourth-quarter comeback vs. the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 3 of the first round? Change-o.

A 62-foot prayer to demoralize Memphis Grizzlies in Game 6? That seems unfair!

Curry, who finished with 34 points on 13-of-22 shooting and 6-of-11 from distance, is indeed unfair. The Warriors point guard unilaterally assumes the spotlight and control of a contest’s emotional balance—to the point that even three-point attempts are met with exasperating gasps from crowds familiar and unfamiliar.

After the game, Coach Kerr was asked if he knows when Curry's about to take over:

"Yea...like, always."

Of course, Golden State finds itself in the Western Conference Finals for reasons mortals can understand.

There's little sense in making grandiose statements after one game in what should be a competitive series. Remember, the team that trailed 1-2 in each second-round NBA playoff matchup ultimately moved on.

But we saw glimpses of what should separate the near-perfect Warriors from the less perfect Rockets over the four- to seven-game sample size.

We saw Shaun Livingston post a playoff career-high 18 points, which ESPN Stats & Info put into fair context:

Mind you, Livingston, not Andre Iguodala, closed out the game for the Warriors. That's a luxury, to be sure.

The bench contribution from center Festus Ezeli, who easily could have not played and not flinched, proved essential. Ezeli spelled a foul-troubled Andrew Bogut admirably, protecting the rim and converting at the hoop with confidence.

Do the Rockets also have another gear? Assuredly they do, particularly when Harden is hitting his signature step-back jumper as he did time and again Tuesday.

Shot charts don't lie:

Credit: NBA.com

And Kerr doesn't have a great solution for that MVP2 trick.

"We debated on the bench whether to change the coverage," Kerr said. "But he was hitting tough, contested fall-away twos."

Playoff basketball is more complex than this, but this begs to be said: It's very possible, and likely, the edge Curry gives the Warriors eclipses the effect Harden has on his team, and this series. Add bonus points from the Warriors' depth and throw in a questionably healthy Dwight Howard and it's hard to picture Houston counterpunching with any sting. Bay Area News Group's Marcus Thompson provided a fourth-quarter scoring comparison between Harden and Curry:

It's clear that Harden's gear is set to 10, and it’s stirring to witness. Curry's is at 11...or who even knows.

Stats are courtesy of NBA.com, unless noted otherwise.